Mid-Day Market Update: Markets Continue to Fall; Coal and Defense Sectors Lead the Way

Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 2.23 percent to 12,950.17 while the NASDAQ fell 2.39 percent to 2,940.00. The S&P also fell, decreasing 2.17 percent to 1,397.41.Top HeadlineEarly Wednesday morning, President Barack Obama was declared the early winner of the 2012 presidential election as he was voted in for a second term. Coal stocks are expected to take a hit from the President's re-election, while Gold and renewable energy stocks are expected to get a boost.Equities Trading UPVirmetX (NYSE: VHC) consolidated its gains, remaining up 20.88 percent at $31.78 following the market opening after its patent suit victory against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Wednesday morning.Amyris (NASDAQ: AMRS) rose 19.11 percent to $3.09 after posting a smaller than expected third quarter earnings loss.Shares of Hyperdynamics Corporation (NYSE: HDY) also enjoyed a rally, boosting 22.12 percent to $1.27 after filing a form 8-K after the market close Tuesday.Equities Trading DOWNJames River Coal (NASDAQ: JRCC) continued its fall, dropping 21.92 percent to $3.67 following the president's re-election this morning.Shares of Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) also took a beating following the president's re-election, remaining down 12.59 percent at $7.57.NII Holdings (NASDAQ: NIHD) came back a bit but remained down 7.21 percent at $6.56 following an earnings miss before the market opening Wednesday.CommoditiesIn commodity news, oil traded down 3.96 percent to $85.19, while gold traded down 0.13 percent to $1,716.90.Silver traded down 0.40 percent Wednesday to $31.64.EurozoneEuropean markets were largely down Wednesday morning following the US presidential election. Traders may also have been wary of the coming Greek Austerity vote, the results of which are expected after the European close today.In other news, the ECB President Mario Draghi came out with some comments this morning, saying that the euro crisis was impacting the German economy, while Olli Rehn stated that the economic recovery should strengthen in 2013.EconomicsThere are no major economic releases scheduled for Wednesday.